


Minutiae

by ADancingMan



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: F/M, Ficlets, Gen, M/M, Shuffle Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-03
Updated: 2014-10-03
Packaged: 2018-02-19 18:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2398466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADancingMan/pseuds/ADancingMan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Blatantly stolen from a prompt that was likewise, blatantly stolen from elsewhere :D:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.</em><br/>2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle<br/>3. Write a ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the ficlet; you start when the song starts, and stop when it’s over. No lingering afterwards!<br/>4. Do ten of these, then post them.
</p>
<p>Yes, one of <em>those</em>. It was to take a break from essays. I think they turned out rather well!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Minutiae

**Author's Note:**

> I like this prompt a lot, but the titles of songs at the beginning of each ficlet always influence my opinion/perception of the writing too much. So the playlist of songs is posted at the end. 
> 
> Also, I did follow rule 3 for the most part. Not going to lie, though, I had to go back in a clean up some wording and punctuation. Leaving it was grating on me. But I promise I changed very little--95% of each one was written in the time frame of the song.

\---

It was an entire day’s worth of work, and he threw it away with one retort.

He hadn’t felt this good in months. 

The contents of the flat belonged to a condescending man with stupid glasses.

“Ugh, unskilled laborers,” Martin overheard the man saying to his girlfriend. “They’re like sheep, they’ve never aspired to be anything in their lives.”

Martin re-entered the flat, told the man not to be a presumptuous bitch, and left with his dignity intact.

Now if only he had money for lunch, this day would be perfect.

\---

Martin didn’t always know he was going to be a pilot.

He always knew that was what he wanted to be, of course. He knew that flying would be the most spectacular thing he could ever do. But he didn’t always know that he could, or would do it. And during his adolescence, that uncertainty bogged him down. 

Then, for the first time, someone told him he absolutely couldn’t.

That was the day he realized he _absolutely couldn’t live without trying_.

And that day, with his decision made, he felt like a king.

\---

He was in the rose garden tucked away in the corner of the park one fragrant evening when he saw her. She was there earlier than he expected.

He took a moment to watch her as she in turn gazed at the pastel blooms.

Did her skin look more luminous, now that he knew she was his? Were her movements more graceful? Was she somehow better, because of his love?, Douglas wondered.

\--- 

Music festivals were BRILLIANT. Arthur loved that the music was outside, and that there was a band _and_ grass _and_ birds! He didn’t have to choose inside or outside--it was both!

He grinned as he danced and clapped along with the sunny music.

He turned to his friend Miranda, so glad to see her, so glad she had called him up and invited him to come. 

His dancing became more enthusiastic. He bumped into a girl standing next to him.

“Sorry!” he shouted.

“Hey, watch it!” she shouted back. 

And then her drunk boyfriend punched Arthur in the face.

The world spun a bit. 

Arthur laughed in surprise.

“I don’t even care!” he shouted, grinning. And he turned away to keep dancing with Miranda. 

\---

They were greeted at the seedy little hotel in Brooklyn by a grumpy “conci-urge” in a housecoat and a singing German wearing lederhosen, a helmet, and a Nazi armband.

“Carolyn has absolutely outdone herself this time,” Douglas said in disbelief.

“Danke schön, baby,” said the ridiculous neo-Nazi, mistaking it for a compliment.

\---

Douglas recalled all the minute moments that made him fall.

There was nothing sudden about it. It was done in increments, it was the work of time and a thousand moments--instances of shared tenderness, the sound of a genuine laugh, the brush of a hand, and fleeting dreams of happiness.

In the end, it was Martin’s sweet disposition--his golden heart, bright and untarnished, in spite of it all--that made Douglas certain he would never stop falling in love. 

\---

Seeing his father the day after leaving med school had been torturous.

He cringed as he thought of it.

But that was yesterday! Now he was unbearably happy--bopping down the street, any and all feelings of shame and disappointment smothered by too much alcohol. 

This is the life, he thought. Now he was anything, now that he wasn’t just one thing. 

He could be-- he could be the _world._

His dopey thoughts stumbled through intoxicated logic. _Be_ the world, _see_ the world, it’s all the same, he said to himself.

Hey, I’ll be-- I’ll see the world! I’ll be a _pilot!_ , his drunken mind decided. 

\---

Martin shivered violently as he made his way through the dark halls of the old hotel. He had a bad feeling about this-- a terrible, creeping sensation of unknowable fear. 

What was he doing here? He shouldn’t have followed Douglas down these halls, the man could take care of himself--

He heard voices. Low, angry voices behind a door ahead of him. 

He approached it, debating whether or not to open the door, to see if Douglas was behind it.

Suddenly, a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and another reached around to cover his mouth. He was spun around roughly to face--

Douglas. 

Douglas released Martin and pressed a finger to his lips, signalling for silence. His eyes were wide and frantic. _“What are you doing here??”_ he mouthed.

“I-- I don’t--” Martin started, forgetting to be quiet. 

The voices behind the door stopped abruptly. He heard footsteps approaching from the other side. 

He turned, and saw door begin to open.

“Run!” Douglas shouted.

\---

It was in a jazz club in 1982 in Tokyo that she met him. 

The club was a strange version of those common in London in the 1950s, a relic trying to cling to relevance. They were on layover, and the F.O. had convinced her to come. But now she was regretting it, feeling bored and vaguely uncomfortable. She could tell he was the sort that harboured the sexist male fantasy that all hosties were easy.

She was toying with the idea of sleeping with him anyway. She was bored, and it had been a while.

And _he_ was easy.

But then Gordon had turned up-- a far more dazzling pilot, his eyes glittering with impossible promises.

And, in that moment--amid the swirling tobacco smoke and the music from the muffled trumpet, where the familiar was made strange--she believed him. 

\---

He was inside his head, he knew it, he could feel himself plunging-- a broken wing--

There were sirens-- they were his own, or maybe something external-- the oily colors and the tinny pulse of pain made it impossible to tell.

The colors enveloped him further-- the rhythm of pain increased--

Or maybe it was his own pulse--

The rhythm increased, and he’d rather it didn’t. 

Martin opened his eyes.

Douglas was peering down at him. “Martin, feeling better, I hope?” He attempted a jovial tone. It fell flat.

“Got a bit dizzy…” Martin murmured. And then everything faded to black, as gently and as easily as closing off

parentheses. 

\---

**Author's Note:**

> Playlist:
> 
> 1\. “Paperback Writer” by The Beatles  
> 2\. “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” by Elton John & Tim Rice, performed by The Lion King Original Broadway Cast  
> 3\. “Who Are You Now?” by Jule Styne & Bob Merrill, from the Funny Girl Original Broadway Cast Recording, performed by Barbra Streisand  
> 4\. “The Party Punch” by Oh No! Oh My!  
> 5\. “In Old Bavaria” by Mel Brooks, from The Producers Original Broadway Cast Recording, performed by Brad Oscar  
> 6\. “Sweet Disposition” by The Temper Trap  
> 7\. “The World And His Wife” by Elvis Costello  
> 8\. “The Spiders” by John Williams, from the Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets Original Motion Picture Soundtrack  
> 9\. “East Of The Sun” by Billie Holiday  
> 10\. “Parentheses” by The Antlers


End file.
